


A Rose by any other name

by Look_for_the_miracles



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, Hobbits, Lord of the Rings, Names, One Shot, POV Minor Character, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:08:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23427508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Look_for_the_miracles/pseuds/Look_for_the_miracles
Summary: It's the morning after her wedding when Rose Cotton – no, Rose Gamgee now – reflects on the many names she's had. To almost everyone, she's been called something other than her given name. Only in the small hours of the morning after her wedding, after her name has changed once more, does she start to reflect on the names of her life
Relationships: Rose Cotton/Sam Gamgee
Kudos: 4





	A Rose by any other name

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there, so this is my first ever piece of work on AO3 but it doesn't take a genius to figure that out! This piece is also posted on ff.net. 
> 
> Enjoy.

It's the morning after her wedding when Rose Cotton – no, Rose Gamgee now – reflects on the many names she's had. To almost everyone, she's been called something other than her given name. Only in the small hours of the morning after her wedding, after her name has changed once more, does she start to reflect on the names of her life.

Her gammer always called her little flower. The old hobbitess would pat her curls with a wrinkled hand and tell her stories passed down from her own gammer. She would sit in her rocking chair, calling forth all her grandchildren, and spin tales of life in the Shire from many years ago. Rose was always sure that many of the tales were fictional: there could be no truth in tales of hobbits still living in lands beyond the Shire. Well, perhaps almost no truth. Now Rose will pass on the stories to her future grandchildren.

To her family, Rose has always Rosie. It's one of her favourite names, mostly because it's so close to her actual name. But also because of the love and warmth her parents and siblings put behind it. Well, sometimes her siblings (Tom, Jolly, Nick, and Nibs) shout it angrily, usually after she's hidden slugs in their boots or covered their beds in crumbs. If ever she was found out doing something a little naughty, her full name would come out to play. But she was always called Rosie every other time.

Mr. Bilbo liked to call her young miss, or sometimes he would call her Meril. That was mostly when she was a young lass, sitting in the grass before Mr. Bilbo's favourite bench and waiting for another of his stories. She was never sure if they were true, but then her Sam went out and saw the world beyond the borders of the Shire. Now, Rose is sure they were true if somewhat modified to be suitable for children.

Throughout her life, Rose has been called by many names. Most of them weren't her given name, but they were no less dear to her than the name given to her by her parents. All of them were from people she cares deeply about, and all of them are important markers of her growth from a wee faunt to tweenager to adult.

Then, beside her, Sam rolls over in his sleep and slowly blinks to wakefulness. He gazes up at her, love and adoration sparkling in his eyes. "Morning, Rose darling," he murmurs, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

Rose smiles back and reaches to take his hand. At this moment, she decides that her favourite name is Rose Gamgee.


End file.
